


That Dream - Maybe It Wasn't So...

by abeth_zuppa



Category: Toradora!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Married Life, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26355160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abeth_zuppa/pseuds/abeth_zuppa
Summary: A couple of years into married life, Taiga and Ryuuji bring up the dream they both had back in high school.
Relationships: Aisaka Taiga/Takasu Ryuuji
Comments: 7
Kudos: 84





	That Dream - Maybe It Wasn't So...

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Taiga, Ryuuji, or Toradora! They belong to Yuyuko Takemiya.

Friday nights in the Takasu household brought back a lot of memories of high school. Work and classes were over for the week. Ryuuji cooked dinner with Taiga’s help while he talked about work and she complained about her college classes. After putting the dishes away, they spent the evening watching whatever B-film Taiga had chosen at the rental store. Even though there was plenty of room on the futon for them to spread out, Ryuuji found himself with his wife sitting cross-legged between his legs and leaned up against his chest. 

“That movie was bad,” he told her as the credits rolled. 

“I thought that was the point of these movie nights, Ryuuji. Watch something mindless and stupid at the end of a long week.” 

“I don’t understand how you can just watch a movie with acting and effects that cheap,” he responded, stretching his arms. 

“It’s funny to see how bad it is. The ‘so bad it’s good’ phenomenon! Hey, remember that one scary movie we watched back in high school? Now  _ that _ one was terrible!”

“Which one? We saw a bunch of those together.”

“The ‘I Gave Birth to Puppies” one. It was the first one that gave us both weird-ass dreams that night.”

Ryuuji thought back to when they’d watched that movie together, back after they first met and Taiga was at his house on a nightly basis. It was a random movie he’d picked up from the rental store after Taiga insisted she could handle scary movies. It wasn’t particularly good, but it certainly had led to a memorable dream. 

Back then, Taiga was still head over heels for Kitamura and Ryuuji for Kushieda. They were just friends, acting as each other’s wingman to set them up with their respective crush. Now, the two were coming up on three years of marriage. 

“Oh yeah, that one. If I recall correctly, you said you wanted to avoid the fate of having me as your husband as much as possible,” Ryuuji said, grinning at her. He waved his left hand in her face, reminding her that she was the one who had put the gold wedding band on his finger. She lightly slapped his hand away, her left hand bearing a gold band that matched his. 

“Shut up! I - just didn’t want to marry a dog.”

“Mm-hmm, sure,” he responded, placing a kiss on the top of Taiga’s head. “I didn’t want to marry you either back then,  _ especially _ if you were going to give birth to puppies.”

She turned in his lap to look at him.  “Wait, you never told me about  _ that _ part of the dream!”

Ryuuji blushed. “Yeah, that was the scariest part. Yasuko showed up out of a doghouse with a bunch of puppies and said you’d given birth to them.” 

She couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “Oh my God, you  _ really _ got scared by that stupid movie!” She continued, tears streaming down her cheeks. Ryuuji felt her shaking from how hard she was laughing. He sat patiently and waited for her to calm herself down. 

“God, you’re embarrassing,” he said, wiping some of the tears from her reddened cheeks. 

“But you love me anyway,” Taiga responded. 

“Yeah, I do.”

He hugged her, leaving another kiss on the top of her head. Sure, they both experienced person and interpersonal difficulties in their relationship, but they also were determined enough to grow and develop alongside each other, to make sure their love remained strong. If dragons and tigers of old could stand side by side as equals, certainly they should be able to do the same. There was no one else that they’d rather be with than each other. 

“Hey, Ryuuji?”

“What’s up?”

“I - I -” She mumbled something under her breath. 

“Taiga, you’re gonna have to speak up. I haven’t mastered how to read your mind yet.”

She looked down, suddenly very interested in fidgeting with Ryuuji’s T-shirt. “I - I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant.” 

_ Wait, did I just hear that right? _ He took her tiny hands in his. “What?”

“Damn it Ryuuji, I’m pregnant!” She shouted. 

“Hey, take it easy. Are you serious?”

“I don’t think a missed period and three positive pregnancy tests could be wrong!” The words rushed out of her, the volume of her voice lowering. “And we’ve been trying for the past few months, so it’s not like we weren’t expecting this.” She blushed, turning her head away from him. He grasped her hands a little tighter and let what she said sink in. 

_ Taiga’s pregnant. We’re going to be parents. Holy shit.  _

All he could do was smile, then let out a laugh. 

“What are you laughing about? Ryuuji!”

“I’m sorry, Taiga, but we started this whole conversation about that stupid movie and the stupid dreams we had years ago, and in a way, those stupid dreams are becoming reality.”

“Except I hope it’s not puppies,” she said, a smile on her face. 

He let out another laugh and gave her hands a gentle squeeze. She joined in with him, and suddenly, she found herself off of her feet. Ryuuji held her and spun her in a circle, just like he did on that snowy Christmas Eve years ago. 

“We’re gonna be parents!”

They both laughed, giddy with joy. Taiga held onto Ryuuji’s upper back while his arms wrapped around her. After a few minutes, the two of them gasping for air, Ryuuji slowed down enough that he could lie on his back, letting Taiga lay on top of him. She bent down and pressed her lips to his. His hands went up to caress the sides of her face, deepening their kiss.

_ His lips are still dry, but that’s okay.  _

She stopped kissing him and leaned her forehead against his. He gazed into her amber eyes and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. 

“I love you, Ryuuji,” Taiga whispered, her breath tickling his skin. “You’re gonna be a good dad. Hell, you’re gonna be the best.” She left a small kiss on his forehead, then shifted downwards to tuck her head under his chin, content to listen to his racing heartbeat. 

He stroked her long hair, his other arm wrapping around her waist. 

“I love you too, Taiga.” 

_ That dream - maybe it wasn’t so - bad. _

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who watched Toradora! for a third time this past weekend? It's me. 
> 
> After finishing my re-watch, I was inspired to actually write something that I thought of during my second re-watch and never got around to. This series is probably one of my favorite romantic anime series and it brings me a lot of joy, so I had fun writing this. 
> 
> Reviews, kudos, and constructive critique are always welcome. Thank you so much! 
> 
> -Ellie (abeth_zuppa)


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